Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Freight Locomotives
Hauling all those freight cars around the country are about
25,000 diesel-electric locomotives. America's railroads take
delivery of about 1,400 new locomotives every year. That may
sound like a lot—and, of course, it is—but back in 1930 there
were more than 57,000 locomotives in service. All but about 600
of those were steam engines.
A pair of freight locomotives hauling hopper cars filled with grain.
Photo courtesy of CSX
Transportation
The appearance and design of freight locomotives varies tre-
mendously—by weight, horsepower, number of axles, type of
traction motor (AC or DC), air-brake configuration, presence or
lack of dynamic braking, and so forth. It's no matter, because
they're all fundamentally the same underneath: big, powerful
diesel motors mounted on a rolling platform. (A more detailed
description of how a locomotive operates may be found in chap-
ter 10, “How It All Works.”)
There are really only two factors that determine the type of
job for which any given locomotive is best suited:
horsepower
and
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